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ColdWater Tank

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After going through 5 aquarium heaters, Spending almost $150 dollars on heaters, accidentally killing 12 fish. I am done with heaters so i am going to make my tank a cold water. Right now I currently have 4 platys that have survived ( and my pretty white molly that i got for free). i do have a few questions because it's been a few weeks and i was wondering when i get my paradise fish what are some other cold water fish that could live with it and what plants could live in cold-water. oh in by cold water I mean a range from 60 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

After going through 5 aquarium heaters, Spending almost $150 dollars on heaters, accidentally killing 12 fish. I am done with heaters so i am going to make my tank a cold water. Right now I currently have 4 platys that have survived ( and my pretty white molly that i got for free). i do have a few questions because it's been a few weeks and i was wondering when i get my paradise fish what are some other cold water fish that could live with it and what plants could live in cold-water. oh in by cold water I mean a range from 60 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

something has to have been wrong with those heaters. did you contact the mfg? or return them to the store? I've had faulty heaters before and have always received replacements free of charge.
did you acclimate the heater before you turned it on?

FM made some good points about your heaters especialy the part about acclimating them, I too had a problem with heaters for awile (not for what we mentioned) there but they at least lasted 3-4 months.

There are some fish besides the White clouds FM mentioned, Bloodfins and Zebra danios for two, though the danio's like more room to swim. That tempature is still a concern to me however.

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Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. -Vince Lombardi
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” ― John WoodenSandy Hook Elementary......Lest We Forget
See my profile for my tanks and what fish I keep

Weather loaches (dojos) are cold water loaches. However, you should keep more than just one, and anymore than two is pushing it in a 20 gallon. They do grow to be quite long if they stay healthy, and would eventually require a larger tank. They grow slowly. I had three in my 20-high for about a year, then rehomed them into my 65.

White Cloud Minnows are coldwater, danios usually adapt to cooler water, and rosy barbs, as well as rosy (fathead) minnows will also be fine there.

If you wish to keep invertebrates, blue shrimp (which are actually more transparent than any specific color) and red cherry shrimp also do well. And certain snails. My coldwater tanks are full of hitchhiker snails that came in with my plants.

Red cherry and blue shrimps have consistently bred in my 20. I don't keep shrimps in my 65 because they would get eaten.

Right now, I have WC minnows, the two shrimp species and multiple species of snail in my 20. In my 65 are the rosy barbs, rosy minnows, zebra and glofish danios, dojo loaches and snails.

Any of these should be fine. The barbs and minnows are schooling fish, and to a lesser extent, the danios.

For plants, I have anubias, java ferns, amazon swords, crypts and marimo mossballs in or on the substrate. For floaters, I have hornwort and elodea or anacharis. Also, a few silkies that don't care about lighting or temperature and don't need ferts. Fish don't eat those, either.

What is your level of lighting? The plants I've mentioned are doing fine in my tanks with low- to medium light. I do tab the crypts and swords, and I use Flourish Comprehensive in the water column.

You can also have java moss, but beware! It can grow like crazy and take over. I finally got rid of mine because it became such a pest.

Almost none of the heaters I have seen are calibrated properly. The important thing is to have a thermometer in the tank that is accurate. Either a signing mercury one or a digital probe style. As long as it is consistent on there even if the dial on the heater is off that is ok.

Take my main tank for example it reads about 5 degrees less than what it really is but it is always consistent so that is ok as I keep tabs on it with my digital thermometer.